Poppies
In the land of Oz, Poppy flowers are beautiful scarlet plants that are attractive to the eye, soothing to the smell yet dangerously fatal when amoung too many. There is a vast meadow full of them In the land of Oz. These specific version of poppies are a rare magical species type of blossom. These flowers hold a Papaver somniferum which produces edible seeds, and is also the source of the crude drug opium which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as heroine and morphine. Also, poppies are herbaceous annual, biennial or short-lived perennial plants. Some species are monocarpic, dying after flowering, but in Oz these poppies can never die or ever wilt. So on the long epic journey Dorothy Gale and her comrades were on, they never warned about the danger of the trick the flowers held within them, so they walked right into the Poppy field like it was a red carpet. And thinking this only as a short cut, the group unknowingly walked right into a death trap. The flowers can be found at the borders of Munchkin county, not too far away from the Emerald City. The odor of the poppies there is so very powerful that anyone who breathes it in for too long, falls into a deep slumber, from which they cannot wake and one could sleep on forever and ever amongst the poppies until eventual death. There is no way to break this dark spell and stop the deadly flowers unless one were to be carried and taken out of the field and far away enough to breathe in fresh air and come out of the deadly trance. History Baum introduces the Deady Poppy Field in his first book The Wonderful Wizard o Oz. They are used as an obstacle in the plot of the story. And on Dorothy Gale's first visit to Oz, the girl and her dog Toto succumbed to the slumbering scent of these pretty poppies as they traveled with their new found friends to see the Wizard. After Dorothy and Toto fell victim, even the Cowardly Lion gave into the hypnosis and temptation of the poppies and fell fast asleep shortly after Dorothy and Toto did. He tried to run out of the field and away to safety when he realized what was happening but was unsuccessful. The Scarecrow and Tin Man were immune because they weren't made of flesh. Luckily, they both were able to help the other three sleeping friends and they were rescued in time before they died. Dorothy, Toto, and the Cowardly Lion were saved with the help of the Queen mouse and her loyal Field Mice. Other Appearances In the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West enchanted some poppies in order to slow down Dorothy, Toto, and Cowardly Lion and put them to sleep so she could retrieve the Ruby Slippers. It was a success and Dorothy collapsed right in the middle of the field and laid next to Toto who was already fast asleep, as was the Cowardly Lion. When Scarecrow and Tin man frantically shouted for help, Glinda is seen in the sky above them using her magic to make it magically snow out of the clear blue, causing the effects of the poppies to be neutralize, much to the Wicked Witch's dismay, allowing Dorothy and her friends to continue the journey unharmed. Poppy Prostitutes In the African-American version of Baum's story The Wiz, in both the original Broadway show and 1978 Diana Ross film the poppies were portrayed by a group of foxy ethnic grown woman with sassy attitudes and dressed in flashy red outfits that suggested they were all hookers of Oz. They seduced anyone who came near them by blowing magic opium glitter into the faces of their potential victim which would put them in a drugged induced state, most likely all their clients. This also happened as the Cowardily Lion and Dorothy got too close the poppy girls. In Once Upon a Time, Emma Swan, the show's protagonist, is given poppy powder from another kingdom- presumably the Land of Oz - which can put even a giant to sleep instantly. Poppy Field Poppy Field